ABC News Chief: No More Layoffs

The recently hired head of ABC's news division says he does not envision any more layoffs in the division, which was decimated by downsizing last year."There is no plan for any more of what's gone on in the last year," he told reporters Monday at a gathering of TV critics in Pasadena.He also acknowledged that times have been tough in his division prior to his arrival."I don't want to sugarcoat the last year at ABC," he said. "It has been a very difficult time, but I think we are turning the corner to more success."So he says he envisions being able to concentrate less on the books and more on the product."The hard work was done by [former ABC News chief] David [Westin], very difficult choices," he said. "I feel that work has been done and my mission going forward to is to make ABC News better and stronger, while also keeping an eye on the math.As for his priorities, he wants to better the cohesiveness of ABC News within the company, as well as its creativity."We can jumpstart the creative process at ABC News," he said.He also shot down any notion of discussions within his news division that Jake Tapper would be a better host for This Week than Christiane Amanpour."I am not aware of any internal discussions like that," he said.